DBT Principles in Action

[Swenson] is a teacher's teacher, a model for other experts in how to make DBT clear and accessible to experts and practitioners at all levels....There is no book out there quite like this: clear, deep, compelling, and at times funny. It is true to the model of DBT and at the same time personal, seeming as if you are in a supervision with him. --from the Foreword by Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, Professor and Director, Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics, University of Washington; developer of DBT Swenson's evocative clinical storytelling will spark and deepen your own empathy, creativity, and wisdom in therapy's most complex moments. Reading this book is like getting to play a pickup game with a buddy who happens to play professional basketball--the author is approachably humble, amazingly skilled, and he's on your team. Highly recommended. --Kelly Koerner, PhD, Evidence-Based Practice Institute, Seattle, Washington Even the most senior DBT therapist will undoubtedly become better after Swenson's DBT master class. Swenson uses clinical vignettes, personal stories, and superb teaching examples that breathe life into the most challenging elements of DBT. Readers will marvel at the abundance of wisdom that Swenson brings to bear in teaching clinicians how to precisely apply DBT principles in difficult situations, including how to capably conduct the 'life-worth-living' conversation with a suicidal client. From one of the leading clinical educators of our time, this book is a tour de force. --Alec L. Miller, PsyD, Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants, LLP, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine The single best account of DBT principles in practice currently available. It reflects the author's accumulation of decades of clinical experience, integrated into a compelling package. The book is highly accessible, exceptionally well informed, and clinically valuable for novices as well as experts. I recommend it for anyone wishing to practice or teach DBT. --Peter Fonagy, OBE, FMedSci, FBA, PhD, Professor of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Developmental Science and Head, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, United Kingdom This book allows the reader the opportunity to become a virtual member of Swenson's DBT consultation team. I have been lucky to work with Swenson during his brilliant DBT career, and the experience--as well as his gift for teaching--is well captured here. --Perry D. Hoffman, PhD, President, National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder This fantastic, much-needed book reflects Swenson's extensive experience practicing and teaching DBT, as well as his passion for improving therapists' competence in this complex treatment. Students and experienced clinicians alike will find value in this book's clear teaching points and poignant stories. --Shireen L. Rizvi, PhD, ABPP, Graduate School of Applied and Clinical Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey If you ask for the world's leading DBT teachers, Swenson's name shows up near the very top. He was the first to take up the challenge of adapting DBT to settings such as inpatient units without losing its principles, spirit, and therapeutic power. His deep understanding of DBT principles enables him to balance treatment adherence with flexibility in adapting it to different populations and contexts. This book distills the essentials of two decades of practical wisdom in DBT. It's a 'must' for every DBT therapist, or anyone who cares for patients with severe emotion dysregulation. --Martin Bohus, MD, Chair, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University, Germany